Apart from the usual distinctions in terms of
the delegated services, ownership of the facilities
or the point in time at which the operator
intervenes during the lifetime of the project
(operation and maintenance contracts, lease
contracts, concession, BOT [build-operatetransfer],
or BOO [build-own-operate] agreement,
and so forth), particular attention will be
paid to the problem of risk sharing between the
port authority and the operator. All public-private
partnerships are defined in a contract, the
content of which must be adapted according to
the characteristics of the particular project.
These contracts reflect the mutual commitments
of the parties and in defining them, the risks
assumed by each party.